His replacement will be current Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Eddie Jordan, a former NBA head coach and 1977 graduate of Rutgers himself, according to a report from USA Today's Keith Sargeant.

As reported by Paul Franklin of The Times (Trenton, N.J.), Jordan had a private meeting with Rutgers brass on Saturday evening. They will task him with repairing the public image of the program after Rice's dismissal, with a move to the Big Ten Conference impending:

According to sources close to the program, Jordan met with Rutgers officials Saturday evening in New Jersey and a collective decision was made to bring home one of the state university’s favorite sons.

UPDATE: Monday, Apr. 22, at 2:07 p.m. ET by Brandon Galvin

Rutgers will hold a press conference tomorrow and is expected to officially announce Eddie Jordan as the new head coach, according to ESPN's Andy Katz.

Rutgers announces it will hold a news conference at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday to announce a new head coach (Eddie Jordan).

In addition to being the head coach of the Washington Wizards, Sacramento Kings and Philadelphia 76ers, Jordan was a one-time assistant at Rutgers and would return to the upper Northeast after a 21-year stint in the NBA.

His career record as an NBA coach is 257-343, a .428 winning percentage.

Rutgers certainly has some work to do to rebuild its current image. The university parted ways with Rice in early April after footage of his behavior at practice leaked to ESPN's Outside the Lines and promptly became an Internet sensation.

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In addition to the negative publicity, the Scarlet Knights have also struggled badly in the Big East, failing to finish in the Top 10 over the last six seasons and finishing just 29-35 under Rice.

Jordan, a longtime NBA coach, will also have to contend with an impending move to the Big Ten—widely regarded as the top basketball conference in the country. Signing on with L.A. to help Mike Brown install the Princeton offense, it's widely expected that he would bring that same style back to the Scarlet Knights next season.

Jordan also spent time at Boston College under Jim O'Brien in the early part of his coaching career.

In a dark time for both the program and the university as a whole, Jordan is a solid hire who will help get Rutgers back to prominence with a couple of solid recruiting classes. An alumnus who has had a successful stint at the next level, Jordan will start his dream job at a time when the school needs a hero in the head coaching spot.